


Ironwood Trees: INHUMANS

by drunkenpandaren



Series: Ironwood Trees Saga [3]
Category: Deadpool (Movieverse), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Future Avengers (Cartoon 2017), The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:22:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25919512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drunkenpandaren/pseuds/drunkenpandaren
Summary: The world Tony created marches on, and in a world jumped past Kamino Ward, we see the story continue as the Inhumans and a new Galactic Opponent emerges in the depths of space.
Series: Ironwood Trees Saga [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1881025
Comments: 1





	1. The Amnesiac Girl and the Portend

“My liege. There has been a landing.”

Black Bolt tilted his head curiously at the announcement as the Captain presented his findings. “It is a Skull Ship, sire.” said the Captain, and Black Bolt’s expression narrowed. “There was one lifeform, so we monitored the vector of it. One lifesign, human.”

“Are you certain about this?” asked Medusa. “It could be a Skull sleeper agent. Sent out to Earth. The Skulls haven’t been in this sector for many years.”

“We scanned it thoroughly by order of Maximus.” said the Captain. “We did not pick up any Skull DNA on the way in.”

Black Bolt regarded the findings, and gestured. “Yes sire, I will notify Crystal immediately,” said the Captain before bowing and walking away.

Medusa leaned back in her chair, frowning. “What would a Skull Ship be doing way out here? What would they be wanting with Earth now? We have a treaty with them.”

Black Bolt frowned.

=====

“Ah, that was so good,” said Jiro as she, Tsuyu, Mina, Momo and Hagakure walked out of the cafe towards the shopping plaza. “That cafe is always the best!”

“Yes! Miss Crystal always has the best food,” said Momo.

“I especially like her Attalan Tea!” Exclaimed Mina. “it’s so delicious!”

“We should bring Ochako here next time-kero,” said Tsuyu. “I hear she likes this place, but she always comes with the Young Avengers.”

“Foo, we’re Young Avengers now too!” Exclaimed Hagakure. “Did you hear that Mineta is bragging how he turned off the generator to everyone he can?”

“Heh, I think the grape earned it, to be honest.” admitted Jiro. “Everyone’s really stepping up their game. Since Kamino Ward after all.”

“I don’t know even how that happened,” said Momo. “One moment we were fighting in the Torn Pages, and then it’s like my life passed by in a blur.”

“Stark-sensei said it was because of the Stones,” said Tsuyu. “Hagakure, you were closest to the Stones when they went off. You remember right?”

“Yeah.” said Hagakure, folding her arms around herself a little, not that she could be seen. “Time slowed down more for me than you guys did, so we went on a training trip, Bakugou got kidnapped, and some of you went to save him and then All Might fought that All for One guy in Kamino Ward. Stark-Sensei said he could have intervened, but this time he didn’t. Instead, he used the Stones to correct our universe, like he was supposed to.”

“Which was to set it on it’s path,” said Momo. “The logistics of playing around with reality like that boggles the mind. And where are the Stones now?”

“He didn’t say.” said Hagakure. “But I can feel it in my skin, the creeping Power Cosmic. Something’s changed about my Quirk, I can feel it. I just don’t know what.”

The girls nodded as suddenly, a woman bumped into Momo. “Excuse me,” she said with a light accented tone.

“No, it was my fault, apologies.” said Momo as she turned to look at the young woman.

The young woman had dark hair, chocolate eyes and brown skin. Middle Eastern, but her form of dress was form fitting with some kind of outfit in green with a crest stitched across the shoulders. The woman looked at the group and she tilted her head before saying, “You’ve… been touched by the Power Cosmic… haven’t you?”

“You know about the Stones?” asked Jiro before the woman slowly turned towards them, her stance wary. “Who are you?”

“We’re students at Yuuhi High… and we’re members of Avengers Academy. Who are you?” asked Momo, taking charge since she was the co-leader of the class reps.

The woman’s brow furrowed. “I… don’t know. I came here to find out. You said you were Avengers? I remember wanting to be an Avenger. Can you take me to your school?”

“School’s out right now, but we’re going back to our dorms now.” said Momo. “We’ll get you special permission to come with us. Do you have a name?”

“Kamala.” replied the nameless woman. “That’s all I remember.”

The girls exchanged glances and Momo said, “All right. I’ll call Aizawa-sensei.”

=====

“The ship is here,” said Crystal, standing at the Blockbuster as two forms materialized next to it. One was a tall Inhuman in green, and the other was the huge dog of Melissa’s: Lockjaw. “Glad you could make it, Karnak, Lockjaw.”

“When I heard there was a Skrull ship on Earth, I had to come and investigate.” replied Karnak, running a scanner over the cloaked ship. “This is sloppy for an actual Skrull invasion. In almost plain sight and double parked in a public zone. Fortunately for whoever owns this place, this Blockbuster hasn’t been in use for years.”

“Pity, I liked coming here as a kid,” said Crystal. “Lockjaw, are you getting any scents?”

Lockjaw sniffed the air, and he perked up visibly. “A familiar scent? One you recognize?” translated Crystal.

“What could that mean?” asked Karnak. “Someone he’s known once before?”

Before getting an answer, Lockjaw ran off, yapping repeatedly. Crystal and Karnak shared a look before running off after him.

=====

“Dad? Have you seen Lockjaw?” asked Melissa.

“I haven’t.” replied David. “Did you let him out into the yard?”

“I did. I know he likes to wander off, but he’s usually home for supper time.” said Melissa, frowning. She pulled out the tracker she had attached to his collar and checked it. “Wait, what’s he doing over there?”

David walked out, a toothbrush in his mouth. “Where is he now?”

“Lockjaw is headed towards the Yuuhi Dorms,” replied Melissa. “I’m going to go and head over there. Is that okay?”

“Well, don’t stay out too late.” said David. “And no detours. The last thing I want to hear is Ms Marvel beats up a thug in the 11 o’clock news.”

“Daaaaad,” whined Melissa as she slipped on her shoes. “I’m not that bad!”

“No, but you are your father’s daughter,” laughed David, glancing towards the Wolverine Armor which sat on its shelf.

Melissa pouted as she got outside, jumped on her scooter and headed off towards the school.

“Honestly he could stop treating me like a little girl sometimes,” grumbled Melissa as she pulled up at the gate, showed her ID and went inside to the Dorms. Once inside, she keyed in her access card and let herself in. “Anyone awake?”

“Oh hey, Melissa!” Exclaimed Hagakure as they were watching Lockjaw slobber over a grown woman in a green outfit. “You came to get your dog huh?”

“Yeah, uh, sorry. I guess he must have just slid in here huh? Lockjaw, bad!” Exclaimed Melissa. “How’d he even get in?”

“He just teleported inside,” replied Ochako, as Lockjaw whined as Tsuyu and Jiro pulled the huge dog off the soaked woman. “Sorry.”

The woman toweled off as she sighed. “It’s okay I just… I feel like I’m used to this?”

“She has amnesia. Or rather, she doesn’t remember much about her home.” replied Tsuyu as an aside to Melissa.

“What? Really?” asked Melissa as Chloe nodded.

“Yeah, really. We asked her a bunch of questions and she doesn’t remember anything. She came here looking for answers, and said we were touched by the Power Cosmic. We assumed it was the Stones but it seems to be some kind of generic cosmic energy.” said Chloe. “How strange.”

Lockjaw woofed in pleasure at the woman as Kamala sighed a little. “Your dog is really something. He reminds me of home. Somehow.”

Kamala and Melissa’s eyes met and for a moment, they stared at one another. And then -- they really stared at one another, souls linking for the deepest second before they whispered, “As one.” before breaking off the connection with a shake and blink. “You’re me!” They chorused. “Not me, but, me me. Soul me!” They chorused again.

“Okay, hold on, start again.” said Melissa, as she started, standing up to look at Kamala, and Kamala staring at her with wide eyes. “You’re… me. The me, inside me. The Inhuman who joined with me.”

“And you’re me, the girl who joined with me, the girl’s spirit who…” Kamala pressed a hand on her head. “Oh this makes no sense whatsoever! But… we’re here and…”

“Whoa, wait, wait.” said Mina. “You mean to tell me, that Kamala here is the one who joined with you, and gave you your powers, Melissa?”

Melissa nodded weakly.

“And Kamala, joined with you in that dream cocoon of yours?” Kamala nodded. Mina threw up her arms. “But what’s the deal? Where did you come from?”

“I… was in space,” said Kamala, shocking everyone in the room. “I… was running from… someone, something powerful. A friend?”

“Space. You’re a space alien.” said Jiro.

“That makes about as much sense as…” the girls looked at one another and then looked at the dog who had made a pool of himself at their feet. “A teleporting dog-kero.” finished Tsuyu.

=====

Deep in space, a lush green world turned dark.

“That’s another one down,” said the voice, young, female. “It’s going to be a while till they regrow.”

It hungers.

“I know they weren’t the best. But that’s what we get for eating them out of season! You need to relax and eat them in season!”

It is impatient.

“Don’t get on my case! But… I know my home planet is ready now.”

Then go.

“Fine, fine. Just remember to save some for the locals this time.”

It makes no promises.

“Picky Picky. Ready to go?”

“Kiee kiee!”

You had better at least bring a sampler back.

=====

“My liege, there’s something coming on the deep space radar,” said the Captain, “audio only.”

Maximus frowned. “A radio signal? Put it on.”

From the audio, it sounded like… singing?

As it got closer, Maximus paled. “No… Oh hell no.”

“My liege?”

“Sound the alarm. Level 5.” And he stalked off, as the singing filled the room. He had a certain Inferno to contact, plans to make -- and singing to get out of his head.

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Squirrel Girl Comes, Changes Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theme songs!

Squirrel Girl  
Squirrel Girl!  
She’s a human and also a squirrel!

Can she climb up a tree?  
Yes she can, easily.  
That’s why, her name is  
Squirrel Girl!

The jovial song had moments to ring out through the vastness of space seconds before a blast from Earth’s Moon rocketed towards the singer, and she yelped. “Well that’s a fine how do you do! I’m just here for a sampler!”

More energy blasts from a fleet of ships appeared and the flier in space yelped and started dodging out of the way. “Hold on Tippy-Toe, we’re going in for a rough landing!”

And with that, they dove towards Earth, their pursuers on their heels.

=====

Training in Ground Beta was an interesting thing, now that Class 1-A was more motivated than ever before. With their focus on Quirks being developed, each one of the class were working on developing their special moves, rocketing between the pillars formed for the class exercises.

“They’ve grown over the year,” remarked Toshinori to Shouta, the men watching the kids grow and develop. “I was worried for a while.”

“I had worries about the Problem Child for a while,” said Shouta, looking over at Izuku who was using his new Shoot Style. “But once he figured out his punching style wasn’t doing him any favors after breaking his bones multiple times, well…

“I have myself to blame for that,” said Toshinori. “And with the provisional exams being scheduled so soon, we should probably ensure that the students are ready. They won’t let Young Midoriya use his technology for it. As much as he wants to.”

“It’s a crutch that the Commission isn’t ready to let him use. They see it as a weakness they’re not willing to admit. That Stark is still valid in his assumption that our world still has a long way to go towards accepting non-quirked people in their role in society.” said Shouta, frowning. “A role I hope, he can dissuade now that he’s finally somewhat signed up with our Boys and Girls Club unofficially and officially.”

“Yes. So, what do we do about this girl the students dragged in last night?” asked Toshinori, looking over at Kamala who was standing there, arms folded to the side as she watched everyone train hard. “She’s an unknown, with powers that we haven’t yet to catalog.”

“Mmm… Bakugou.” called out Shouta, and Katsuki stopped. “Spar with our newcomer. See what makes her tick.” He turned to Kamala. “If you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” said Kamala, getting off her position and moving over, the leather of her material creaking as Katsuki gauged her smooth motions. “You ready?”

He nodded, all quiet intense focus as he charged in, customary right hook swinging.

Her moves were quick. Instead of countering it, she moved, sliding to the side as she punched back in a direct motion, and he met her fist with his own. The pair slammed together in a fist-to-fist motion seconds before they traded blows, explosions trailing from Katsuki’s heated attacks as he slid around her, blasting where she had once been as she had leaped up into the air -- where she hovered.

“Holy hell she can fly?” exclaimed Eijiro as she glowed and fired a beam that he dodged across the landscape, hands exploding as he soared up and around, tackling her into the ceiling. The pair fell, catching themselves before hitting the ground before clashing again, fire and beams lashing out with a heated blade of light before Katsuki exclaimed, “Blaze Cannon!”

Kamala took the hit head on, but instead of buckling, it was sucked into her stomach and her eyes glowed with brilliant light as she drew back her hand and it glowed brilliant. “Last Punch!”

The punch cracked against his jaw and knocked Katsuki several meters back and Shouta called, “Stop! The fight’s over.”

For a moment, everyone expected Katsuki to start raging, but he stood up and cracked his jaw. “That was a neat trick, redirecting the kinetic force.”

“It’s more than that. I can absorb any kind of energy and redirect it to the opponent.” said Kamala, her hand’s light blinking out. “It’s whatever happened to me to lose my memories after giving half of my soul to Melissa that I wound up in space as a result of it.”

“Interesting,” said Shouta. “Thanks for the demonstration.”

=====

Yu Takeyama, otherwise known as Mount Lady, was off duty that day.

Normally she had more time to herself, but with the Symbol of Peace retiring and the current restructuring of several agencies in its wake, she found herself with more time on her hands. Most Pros were now concerned with the amount of Quirkless who were now vying for a position in the Pro market as it were, and while it wasn’t being dissuaded, the schism between Quirked, Quirkless and Inhumans was beginning to become more and more pronounced. Just last week, Kamui Woods had developed Inhuman powers and his usual binding powers had advanced into something more akin to full on wood elemental kinesis.

She sighed. It just wasn’t fair! Why did Kamui get all the cool powers and she didn’t? It certainly didn’t help her standings, as it slipped her from her current fan rankings.

But… she reflected. It wasn’t about the rankings anymore, was it?

Endeavor, the current Number One, had been loudly referring to Tony Stark as the father of modern society, as if he had his eyes opened for some reason. Like he had been cosmically woken up for some reason. She suspected it had something to do with those Infinity Stones which Stark had locked up more securely than, well, All for One had been. Enji Todoroki had been in something of a meteoric 180 of disposition, as a man who has publicly denounced his old behavior, calling it irresponsible and morally reprehensible.

[ Who knew the old cranky pants had it in himself ] thought Yu as she ordered a crepe from the nearby stand. [ Though it’ll take a long time before the duo of Endeavor and Firestar will take center stage. ]

That was another thing too. With the emboldened nature of the world at hand, more and more teenagers were being convinced to go out and DO GOOD. Police were hard-pressed to help convince some of them who were toeing the line that certain vigilante acts were bad, and some good. To this end, a special task force was being built with the aid of a certain Merc with the Mouth to help wayward students. Wade Wilson called them X Force. Yu called it irresponsible, but at least it kept the kids off the street as he directed his army of children into tasks such as cleaning up beaches and parks with their powers under strict supervision.

“Speaking of little yellow boxes and the man should appear!” Exclaimed Wade from an ice cream stand nearby. He sat there, chewing on an ice cream taco in civvies. “What’s up Yu? Brooding in little yellow boxes I see.”

“Wade,” replied Yu, stuffing more crepe into her mouth. “I see you’re taking a break. X Force running you ragged?”

“I wish,” replied Wade. “the brats haven’t run this old man out of energy yet! How about you? I hear you’re taking a break right now.”

“Just for a while. I took some injuries during the All for One battle and it hurts to grow. Doctor had me resting for another week.” said Yu. “I didn’t see you there.”

“Tony and I were strict No Gos for that fight,” replied Wade. “It’s one of those places we couldn’t get involved until after the fact.”

“Uh huh.” remarked Yu. “And then you used the Stones.”

“Hey, we had to. Correct the path, convince Electro everything’s gonna be alright without us.” Wade shrugged. “A world’s gotta grow without it’s heroes. Amirite?”

Yu blew a frustrated breath out of her nose. “This is the same conversation we had before going into Kamino.”

“We did. But for our viewers, let’s run the panels back.” said Wade, pulling at the Pages.

=====

Kamino Ward.

Last Time, in Ironwood Trees.

The Things you Didn’t Get to See.

“We’re all prepared to move into Bakugou’s Position,” said Yu. She looked over at Tony and Wade who were standing there, Electro humming and pulsing with rainbow light. “You can end this, you know.” she said, the heroes staring at the pair as if daring them to make a move. “Snap your fingers, and this is all over.”

“It has to be done,” said Electro, his voice faraway. “There’s some things that have to be done, some things that have to be said.”

“I don’t like this as much as the next guy, but Electro hasn’t steered me wrong yet,” said Tony, scowling. “We’ll help in this part, but once Mighty goes in, we can’t interfere. It’s not my place yet.”

All Might checked his earpiece. “And you’re sure you need us to go in, without you Tony.”

“I’m sure.” said Tony, resting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Believe me, if there’s any other way, if Electro hadn’t rewound time the way he did, none of this would have proceeded the way it should have. But this is a glimpse of what could have been. What the world needs to proceed into for me to change it to the world we wanted it to be.”

“The world for the crossover to happen,” said David, looking at All Might. “You’re going to lose your powers tonight, Toshi.”

“I know,” said All Might softly. “And it’ll happen, here, on the battlefield.”

“Whup his ass, said Wade. “We’ll handle the Nomu.”

“Right. Showtime.” All Might breathed deeply, powered up to muscle form -- and powered through the building.

“I hate this,” said Mount Lady, seconds before she grew big. “But it’s for the world to continue on, right?”

“Yes, it is.” said Electro, his expression faraway.

“Then let’s get to it!” And she slammed into the building she was designated into.

=====

NOW.

“I hate it when you do that,” grumbled Yu, shaking the disoriented cobwebs out of her head. “Why do you even have that power?”

“I dunno,” replied Wade. “I’ve been upgraded to be honest.”

“Oh sonufa…” A brilliant light in the sky lit itself up in the night sky and she frowned. “What?”

Another one followed, followed by a third. Flashes of light like streaks of something could be seen, followed by a streak of light that seemed to arc about. “What in the world is that?” asked Yu, pointing at it, as Wade looked up.

His brow furrowed as he said, “I… have no idea.”

“You don’t know, or you choose NOT to tell us?” asked Yu.

“I mean it, I don’t know! I’m not omniscient, and the author didn’t tell me!” Exclaimed Wade as the dance of lights continued overhead. “This is a first for me!” He paused. “God I hope that’s not a Green Lantern fight.”

The streaks of light continued, and then suddenly, aborted as several of them peeled off towards the moon as a chestnut colored light flashed towards the Earth. “Hooboy it’s coming straight for us, Ma!” Exclaimed Wade, reaching for a gun that wasn’t there. “Aw damn, I’m out of guns.”

The light grew closer and closer and as it got closer, they could hear… singing?

“Squirrel Girl, Squirrel Girl! She's a human and also squirrel! Can she climb up a tree? Yes she can, easily! That's whyyyy her name is Squirrel Girl! Is she tough? Listen, bud: she's got partially squirrel blood! Who's her friend? Don't you know: that's the squirrel, Tippy-Toe!”

And with that, a girl dressed in a brown and grey outfit with big boots, and a big bushy tail with a squirrel ear headband came down, landing feet first atop Wade’s head.

“Ow.” said Wade as the girl made a 10.0 landing on top of the Deadpool.

“Man, we made it! Home sweet home, huh Tippy-Toe?”

From her shoulder, a squirrel with a bow on her neck popped out of hiding, chattering rapid fire. “I know, I know we’ve got a job to do but we can take a break once in a while! We’re here early and we made good time! Oh hey, floor Deadpool.”

Hopping off Wade, she stretched her arms over her head and the girl smiled. “So can you guys direct me to the nearest roasted chestnut stand? Tippy-Toe and I are famished.”

“Uh…” Yu looked around, and pointed before saying, “That way. Did you two literally come from the sky? As in, space?”

“Sure did!” Exclaimed the girl. “What, you haven’t met someone from space before? I’m originally from Canada though. Around Toronto or so.” She peered at Wade. “You look a little more Ryan that I imagined you to be under the mask, there Deadpool.”

“That’s cause he takes all of my good looks,” replied Wade. “So… Squirrel Girl?”

“Yeah, glad someone figured out who I am.” replied Squirrel Girl. “Squirrel Girl, at your service! Man, it’s nice to be back on Earth again. Spend a few years hopping planets, making sure the crops grow and feeding them to the big guy sure is busy work.”

“Wait, hold on, back up. So you can just fly in space? Squirrel Girl?” repeated Yu.

“Yeah! Doreen Green, Squirrel Girl. This is Tippy-Toe.” The squirrel waved. “We’re the Heralds of Galactus!”

A long pause followed. And then Wade proclaimed, “Well Fu--”

=====

“Okay, breathe Hagakure.” said Ochako, as Hagakure focused.

The pair were sitting in Toru Hagakure’s room, sitting cross-legged as the invisible girl focused. She seemed to be straining, sweat beading down her forehead as something flickered around the peripherals of her body. “Something else is happening,” Toru murmured, her body shimmering a little with the exertion before she relaxed.

“It feels like there’s a force inside, trying to get out of it. I’ve felt it since I was so close to the Power Stone.” She flopped onto the bed with a groan. “I don’t know what it is! I can feel it dancing on the edge of my senses but…!”

“It’s not Inhuman power,” said Ochako. “And we’ve tested for a five-point Quirk mutation so it can’t be that. What can it be?”

“I don’t know,” huffed Toru. “The problem I’m having is that it feels bottled up, like a scrunchie or something. But I can’t let it… go out. Like… I dunno, gas?”

Ochako wrinkled her nose. “What a metaphor, but I guess you’re right. If it’s stuck there, then we’re probably trying to find a way to pass it.”

“Yeah. Something’s missing and I don’t know what. Augh, this is so frustrating!” Toru sighed, rubbing her hands through her hair in frustration. “Thanks for helping me out Ochako. I can’t get this, but I’ve been feeling so… pent up for some reason since I got so close to the Power Stone. And something inside me about my Quirk changed, I just know it!”

Ochako smiled as she nodded. “Yeah! You’ll do fine!”

Suddenly there was a loud crash, a yell and a cursing from downstairs as the pair jumped. “What was that?” exclaimed Ochako as the pair got up and went to the door. Looking out the door, they could hear cursing from upstairs as a banging noise could be heard. “It’s coming from upstairs.”

“Everyone’s out at the moment, except for…” The pair shared a glance. “Mineta.” finished Toru.

Making a face, the pair went upstairs and knocked on the door. “Mineta? You okay in there?” called out Ochako as there were more crashing noises, and a yell and tumbling.

“Fine! Fine, everything’s fine! Don’t worry, everything’s in control! Don’t come in!” Exclaimed Mineta from behind the door as there was the tearing of… something, and more crashing. “Sonufa--!”

“You sure?” asked Toru, genuinely concerned for once. “You’ve been feeling strange lately since the fight in New York. And you haven’t come to class recently.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine, you two just go back to practice!” Replied Mineta, followed by more crashing. “I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine!”

Ochako and Toru shared a glance and Ochako called out, “Okay, if you need help you’ll say so.”

Behind the door, Mineta slumped to the floor, tangled in sheets, ripped pieces of books, tables and assorted pieces of drywall. He shook his hand, trying to dislodge it with little success. “I’m fine… really.” he said.

But he wasn’t okay. He wasn’t okay at all.

Mineta looked at himself in the mirror he used to pose every day, at the wreck he was as his entire room was covered in webs. “I’m… fine.” he whispered softly, curling up into a ball, wrapping all six of his arms around himself.

TO BE CONTINUED


	3. The Spider, the Girl and the Rabbit in the Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Webs we weave, and the New Stories that occur as Tony finds himself steering towards a new tale.

“So explain this to us again.” said Naomasa Tsukauchi who was assigned to this case. He really needed a new job half the time instead of letting the heroes use him as a front-man for the weirder stuff.

Case in point: the woman who claimed to be from space, who was originally from Canada and was the herald of something she called Galactus. Some might think that his quirk that told the truth was a human lie detector. However it was more suited to his nature as the True Man, which was more of an intuition -- a sense for what was right and wrong instead of being a human lie detector than an actual yes or no. After all, the best liars could bold face lie in front of a lie detector and fool it. But raw intuition could serve a man on the force for years.

If he was a lesser man, he would be singing bullshit right now.

Naomasa was no such man. And he wanted a drink.

“Yeah! Y’see, when I first encountered Galactus, he came to this world. Course, no one remembers it cause he wiped the memory of everyone on this planet cause it was so traumatizing that it caused a worldwide panic. But I convinced him that nuts were the most filling food on the planet. So we convinced him to start planting nuts all across the universe.”

“Nuts.” said Naomasa, feeling like he needed a drink. Or several.

“Uh huh. And because we’ve been feeding him nuts so much, our supplies were starting to run low. And we thought, Tippy-Toe and I would head back while Monkey Joe keeps him company. I can travel through space after all, since the Skrulls were raiding planets, seeking the source of Galactus’s food and that was making him REALLY upset.”

“Skrulls?”

“Skrulls are bad people. They’re people who love to infiltrate other civilizations and cause mayhem. There’s none here on Earth because of a treaty, but recently a ship dropped on this planet. And I heard there’s a ship on its way cause they’re chasing down the passenger. Galactus doesn’t want his food supply to be damaged, so he sent me! His herald!”

“Why would he be so interested in uh..” Naomasa checked his notes. “Earth nuts?”

“Because of its taste! Once you get the taste of Earth Nuts, you can never go back. Sure there’s TItan Nuts and Q-32 Nuts, but once you get a taste of Earth Nuts, people go crazy for them across the galaxy. So much that there was talk about invading to harvest it all. But that’d make Galactus angry. And you don’t want Galactus angry. He’d go back to his old ways and he’d eat the PLANET. And buddy you don’t want Galactus eating PLANETS.” exclaimed Doreen.

There wasn’t enough alcohol in the world to put up with this. “As you say. Does he take bites out of planets or…?”

“Oh of course not, that’d be silly. He creates a machine that will destroy the planet, and the resulting explosion of life energy feeds him instead. It’s a really messy process and we’d rather not do it.” explained Doreen.

That’s it. Naomasa needed to ask for hazard pay for this.

“When can we expect this Galactus here?”

“Mmm, if Tippy-Toe and I don’t report within a month, he might come looking for us. So let me do my job, and I’ll make sure the Earth isn’t scourged of all life on this planet. I like it here. It’s where most of my stuff is.”

“Okay then.”

=====

“Push the button Mineta! You’re the closest one there!” Yelled Toru, as Mineta found himself standing in the middle of the maelstrom of energies, the Power Stone pulsing rapidly. He could feel its power tearing at his body, the energies coursing through him.

His body felt like a million weights as he ran, the console fading further and further into the distance. [ Why? Why can’t I push it? C’mon body move! I’m a hero! I pushed the button! I saved everyone! ]

“You? A hero? You just bragged about it to everyone when we got back! Everyone said you were a hero, but all you did was press a button.”

[ That’s not true! I did my part! Everyone else was down, I helped! ]

“What sort of Power did you want, you’re just a grape. Your power just sticks to things, you’re not cool or strong…”

[ That’s not true at all. My power is useful, I can use it in many ways! ]

“Your potential… is zero. You’re expelled.”

[ No… no! It’s not true, it’s just a dream, I can wake up from this any time I want! ]

Mineta flailed, his arm reaching and he gasped, the hairy spines emerging from it as the voices chuckled around him, laughing, taunting.

“Poor little Mineta, no fight left to fight, no life left but his own. You were chosen because you were out of the way. Tony Stark didn’t have any confidence in you.”

Mineta slumped to the ground, holding his arm, his choked sobs emerging from his body. [ I… I want to be strong. The strength inside me isn’t fake! Mr. Stark believes in me, in everyone! ]

As the cackling voices grew faint, a voice whispered to him. “You say you want to be strong. You helped in the clutch of the hour. I call that fairly brave. Wouldn’t you agree?”

[ I was there… but I barely did anything… ]

“Oh? If that’s your response… then perhaps this power will overwhelm you. Because with great power…”

[ With great power....? ]

Mineta suddenly felt a terrible heat running through his body, as he screamed, thrashed and yelled. Arms burst from his body, spines and feelers grew. Whatever the voice said was drowned out as everything grew dark.

And then…

=====

“Man, what’s going on in there?” asked Denki as he rapped the door to Mineta’s room. “Hey, Mineta? What’s going on? Buddy?”

Suddenly the door smashed open in a thousand splinters, as a vicious monster smashed through the door with a roar. It was small, but aggressive as Denki scrambled back in a shocked gasp. “What the hell!?”

It was dark, violet, and covered in spines with several arms with several eyes. And it advanced on Denki before leaping to the roof and scurrying away, leaving a trembling teenager on the floor.

“What happened?” demanded Tenya, running into the hallway. “What happened to the door, Kaminari?”

“T-th… the door… Mineta…! Some weird creature, a villain or something, something happened to Mineta!” Yelled Denki, as he pointed towards the ruins of Mineta’s room, where it was covered in webbing.

“What’s going on?” said Tenya, as Momo, who had come to investigate, turned to her classmates. “Mina, go get Aizawa-sensei, hurry! Or any teacher you can find! Something’s happened to Mineta, he might have been affected by something!”

Unseen by the group, Toru clutched her hand to her chest as she turned and fled after Mineta. [ It’s gotta be the Power Cosmic. It’s affected Mineta too! I gotta find him! ]

=====

“So I said to him, why don’t I help you out? It would be better in the long run!” Exclaimed Makoto, as the group of four walked to the dorms.

“Really? You of all people offered to do homework?” asked Chloe.

“I mean, I wanna give back to Mr. Stark after all.” said Makoto. “He’s done so much for us.”

Any further conversation however suddenly came to a screeching halt, as a ball of snarling hair crashed through the nearby dorms, landing in front of them. “What the?!” Exclaimed Makoto, backing up.

“A student?” Said Adi. “Wait, something’s familiar about this…”

But before they could say anything, it leaped at them, snarling as it sliced at Makoto, tearing his jacket. “I dunno who you are but you just picked the wrong person to fight buddy! Future Avengers Assemble!” And he countered with a wind bolt that knocked the snarling creature backwards.

“All right, take that buddy!” Jeered Makoto as the creature shook his head and then suddenly fired six bolts of webbing at him, forcing Makoto and the others to dodge wildly. “Hey what gives?”

“It’s some kind of Man-Spider!” Exclaimed Chloe as she drew her tonfa. She charged in, taking a swing which the Man-Spider dodged, using her head as a springboard and webbing her in an instant. Chloe hit the ground with an oof as Adi threw his chain flail at it.

The Man-Spider grabbed it, and with a roar, it pulled him off his feet and grabbed him with two hands and started to squeeze. “Little help, Makoto?!”

“I can’t get a clear shot!” Exclaimed Makoto, trying to aim an Aerial Act at it. “Get down Adi!”

Adi cried out as his arms were protesting and the Man-Spider roared. But suddenly, it started to flail as a pair of invisible hands had grabbed it from behind, jumping onto its back. “Wha?” exclaimed Adi, as he was dropped.

“I got it!” Exclaimed Toru. “Mineta, calm down!”

“Mi-Mineta? That thing’s Mineta?” demanded Adi.

“What happened to him?” exclaimed Makoto. “He’s like a feral monster!”

“He’s not a monster!” Exclaimed Toru as the pair were flailing around. “He’s hurt and confused. He’s going under some changes, just like I am! Please, just help him! Help him!”

“I…” Makoto looked at his hands. “What can I do? There’s got to be something I can do…”

Across the way, hidden from sight, Crystal watched the by-play as she frowned. “C’mon Makoto you can do this. Look deep within.”

Makoto closed his eyes as Chloe freed herself and Adi lunged, the pair grabbing Mineta’s arms and legs as the trio flailed around. “All my life, I’ve kept telling myself I’m a hero. And for what? What can I do… right here, right now… Like the wind, I need to care for others… This is it!”

His eyes snapped open as he exclaimed, “Aerial Act: Type 10! Bind!”

A huge blast of wind erupted around Mineta, wrapping around him as the Man-Spider twisted around, helpless to withstand being uplifted into the air. With a cry, he went soaring into the air and came down.

“Mineta!” As he fell, something inside herself SNAPPED and Toru threw her hands forward -- and cupped Mineta with a force field which formed, the invisible shield gently forming around him, lowering the unconscious boy to the ground.

Breathing heavily, Toru looked at the group before she landed, the outlines of her t-shirt and shorts making an indent on the ground where she fell.

=====

The mood in the dorm commons room was tense that evening, as Tony and Recovery Girl walked into the room. Ochako was the first one to stand up. “Are they…?”

“Physically they’re fine… emotionally, that’s another story.” said Recovery Girl. “It’s not every day your Quirks mutate to this degree, much less change your entire nature.”

“Both of them were bombarded with Infinity Stone energy. And as a result, their power sets were vastly mutated.” Explained Tony, much to the student’s dismay. “Toru is exhibiting signs of forcefield projection, capable of creating various psionic projections and constructs. I’m not sure how far this extends.”

“And Mineta?” asked Tenya.

“He’s… gone in the opposite direction. Since his powers were very much of the sticky business, he seems to have undergone a sympathetic transformation with the powers of those who were closest to him, like a mutation. In short, he’s a Man-Spider. Or close to becoming a Spider-man. I don’t know just how close he is to a final evolution but right now, he’s not in his right state of mind. We’ve kept him locked down for now but if he doesn’t recover…” said Tony, trailing off.

“Oh no…” said Ochako. “We heard him banging around the day before, and thought nothing of it. Toru and I didn’t think it was serious.”

“I’ve called in an expert, you met him briefly. Peter B. Parker. But he can’t get away until tomorrow. He’ll be here to examine Mineta, and see what happens. Get some rest everyone. And hope and pray for his recovery.” said Recovery Girl.

As Tony turned to leave, Izuku ran up to him. “Mr. Stark, is there anything I can do?”

“You need to focus on working on your Quirk for now, kid,” said Tony, turning to face Izuku with a fond smile on his face, before ruffling his hair. “It’s a problem we’ve long neglected and I overlooked thanks to my shoddy teaching of superpowers.”

“Right… I wish I could do more to help.” said Izuku. “But I feel so helpless right now with two of our students down.”

“Don’t worry kid. This is less troublesome than it seems I’d imagine. You settle on getting better with your kicks for now. Okay? I’ll have your mom send over some food.” said Tony.

“Thanks Mr. Stark.” said Izuku, smiling. “Tomorrow’s AA day right?”

“Yeah, I have you kids all day tomorrow. Be ready. It’s Avengers time.” said Tony, smiling before he patted Izuku on the head and headed out the door.

As Tony waited for his cab, he turned slightly. “You’re out early Miss Crystal. Hanging around the school today?”

“Waiting for a cab actually.” replied Crystal, smiling. “I noticed your students are out late tonight. Tough round at the campus I hear.”

“News travels fast. So, are you really going to tell me what you’re doing here?”

Crystal’s eyes glinted a little. “What would it take to convince you that I’m one of the good guys, Mr. Stark?”

Tony turned towards Crystal, leaning lightly on his toes. “That depends. What’s your story?”

“Well... “ said Crystal. “That depends.” She looked up at the moon and Tony followed her gaze.

“Tell me… do you believe in the rabbit on the moon?”

TO BE CONTINUED


	4. The Tale of the Pharaoh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony Uses the Stones. The truth behind the end of Ironwood Trees

“And that makes six.”

Electro spread his arms, and in an instant, all six infused into his body until he glowed with a brilliant rainbow light. “Ah, this bliss! The power cosmic calls to me! I could have every wish I want! Any wish I desire!”

Electro smiled. “But what I want to see… is to see what Tony will do, in a scenario like this.”

And Electro raised his fingers.

“No don’t!” Exclaimed Tony, but it was too late.

And he snapped his fingers.

The resounding Snap resounded across the universe, traveling through space and time and for everyone, time seemed to stretch for an instant and infinity. For some, time sped for the longest moment. For others, time was spent in a blur.

For Tony, he reacted, throwing himself toward Electro at the moment of the Snap, a million thoughts racing through his mind. Not again, was the worst possible thought in his mind, followed by, “failure”.

As the thunder rumbled in the deep energies of the world, in the Torn Pages, Tony opened his eyes to find himself standing there with Electro, the man standing stock still, eyes wide, seeing everything and nothing at once. “What. That’s it? No witty comeback, no villainous speech?”

“No... “ said Electro, his voice faraway and everywhere at the same time as he turned towards Tony, tilting his head as he floated down towards Tony. “I see it all clearly now. Tony Stark. The things that was muddled are as clear as day now.”

Electro regarded Tony, as if seeing a newfound light, and he tilted his head curiously. “What… are you, Tony Stark? To wield such power in our behest? To create a world that lives so freely?”

“What do you mean?” asked Tony.

“This world,” said Electro, as he faded around him, gesturing at the thousands of images around him. “To be and to become. The thousands of myriad potential events that are to come, to become, to have been, and never will be.”

Tony looked around the area, at the people who stood in tableau of the fight, All for One and All Might locked in combat. His students, the green bean, Kang’s chair sitting in the corner, all of it.

And then he looked up at the various Pages. Of him meeting Izuku. The scene replayed again of Izuku, alone but defending a fallen child from Bakugou without meeting him. Izuku again being defended from a sludge villain but without him. Then with him. Numerous times, with and without him. And more and more scenes. Training camps, island adventures, meeting Melissa and fighting a villain with All Might, getting his license, fighting a villain with nine quirks and passing One for All to Bakugou in a desperate attempt to save a child.

Meeting a girl with a horn with abuse marks. Making her smile. The death of Sir. The oncoming war between the Villains and heroes. Tomura Shigaraki and Dr. Ujiko.

“You see how this world was meant to be,” said Electro. “Of how your careful crafting changed our world into your world. You, as Pharaoh, changed our world, and how your world will proceed.”

Tony looked again.

Him meeting Izuku. Izuku Inventing. Him meeting Uraraka and Mei. Mei building. Uraraka Training. Saving Eijiro from the villain attack. Katsuki learning that Izuku is really cool and becoming a true friend. Training with the mini Avengers and becoming the Young Avengers. Striving for Yuuhi. Being rescue heroes without a license. Inspiring the young without knowing it.

The eyes of the people on them. Their peers never knowing how strong their friends were. Everyone rallying around them. More and more friends coming to join the circles.

“This event was not meant to happen,” said Electro, his voice thrumming. “Not yet, not now. The Pages were not ready for it. But it happened because of the Stones.”

“So why then? Was it forced?” asked Tony.

“Perhaps,” replied Electro. “All that matters now, is that you have the means to correct it, Tony Stark.”

From Electro’s body, six stones floated forward towards Tony. “You have the means to undo this corrupted world into its original state, or fix what has been done. Do what needs to be done.”

Tony looked at the stones, looked at everything at the battle and said, “There’s no way around this, is there?”

“Not yet,” said Electro. “But take heart Pharaoh. There will be a day when the events come full circle.”

Tony smiled as he held up his wrist, where Ironwood Trees sat and it activated, the gauntlet telescoping around his hand. The smooth polished craftsmanship of Izuku and his friends fitting like a glove as the stones clasped into place. No longer did the stones eat at his body, as Tony turned towards the others, and with a sigh, reached up and with a click of his fingers, Snapped.

=====

The beginning of the universe is an interesting place. Some say it’s a formless potential.

Tony, harkened it to the birthplace of ideas, as he found himself in his old lab. He smiled, with the layout of the timeline in front of him, like it was an orchestra ready to be worked on. “

“Friday start a new program. Call it Ironwood Trees.”

Bit by bit, little by little, Tony rebuilt the universe. Little by little, he adjusted the world. From here, the world took shape. From the Inhumans who were seeded into the world from the Kree, to the placement of the stars.

Slowly, surely, Tony rebuilt the universe, one star at a time.

He didn’t know how long he took, or how much time he spent. But soon, he found himself in his world. His home. His earth.

He started small. Nothing needed to be done about the baseline other than normal. But he found himself surprised at the activity on the moon. Inhumans huh. A kingdom of their own. He could peer in, figure out what’s going on but… let’s try to leave a few surprises this time.

But what to do about All for One. The man was such a huge threat.

Tony got to work. He had a brother, didn’t he? Quirkless he was told by Toshinori. Why would All for One deliberately create a foil to his plans even though he didn’t realize a stockpiling Quirk could be passed on?

What if… this Passing-On Quirk wasn’t there in the first place?

And so, Tony got to work, creating the hero that would become the brother of the man who was this person.

When Tony stepped back, he realized what he had done.

“Rogers you son of a bitch,” he said with a sigh and a chuckle as he realized that he had inadvertently created the weedy boy who was the first holder of One for All. If he had survived today, he would have buffed out by now--oh son of a bitch! No wonder there was a Steve in the ranks!

The more he worked, the more he realized just how many holes there were filled in the ranks. A detective in LA named Nick Fury who dabbled in Hero Work for the higher ups. An underground hero duo of Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton who worked out of Boston. The man who he dubbed as Steve Rogers was now a children’s worker with unusually strong longevity who worked for years with a woman named Carol Danvers in Oaks Playground in a neighboring district. Doctor Bruce Banner, an actual psychiatrist who worked with his cousin Jennifer Walters on abuse cases. And Phil Coulson, a writer for the Hero Times.

The only one who was missing was Thor, and where was he... 

Tony peered about the cosmos, and for an instant, saw a brilliant light and came face to face with the vision of an overweight man doing work on a bowflex in the middle of a ship before fading out. The man looked up, and squinted at him. “Stark?” he mouthed in shock.

“Hey buddy,” said Tony. “Working hard?”

“Y-yes,” Replied Thor, shocked at his appearance. “How…? You’re dead my friend.”

“I used the stones again, in, well, I guess my afterlife. Long story. Hey listen, if you’re near Earth some time, and see Peter again, let him know I’m doing okay, alright?” said Tony, his form flickering. “I just peered in, and I don’t think the Snap will let me hold this communication for very long, I’m sort of in a holding pattern at the moment so…”

“No, no I understand. Godspeed Stark, I’ll relay your tidings.” said Thor, now visibly crying. “I miss you friend.”

“I do too buddy. Come visit me, if you manage to hop into my universe. Try getting the kid to get you a goober!” And Tony faded from sight into his holding world.

Once back in his world, Tony sighed. “Now that’s done, time to finish this.”

Working harder than before, and wiping his tears, he continued work, reversing the huge damage done to Brooklyn, rewinding time, adjusting everything that had done, pulling back the timeline between him and Justin until the dimensional crossover had been scaled down to a simple snatch and grab. Until…

=====

“And I would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for you meddling kids!” Exclaimed Olivia, as she was hustled into the van.

“That’s what they all say,” called out Tony before turning towards Peter. “So… you ready to go home, kid?”

“Do you have to stay, Mr. Stark?” asked Peter, his voice muffled by Tony’s chest as he had him in a hug. “I don’t want you to stay here.”

Tony sighed, hugging Peter back. “I wish I could kid. But this is important to me. Also it might be kind of bad form to start popping back up once my entire account’s been declared dead, you know? I don’t even know if my Social Insurance Number would be accepted again.”

Peter sniffed loudly, trying not to cry into Tony’s chestplate. “Mr. Stark, I just… I missed you so much and… it’s been really hard without you.”

“Hey, I know. But I left the company in your care when you get older, okay?” said Tony. “There’s plans that I didn’t even know about when I first arrived here. And there’s plenty of people who will take care of you.”

“So keep your chin up, and don’t stop talking to Happy, or your Aunt, or Pepper or anyone. Okay?” said Tony and Peter nodded.

“Okay Mr. Stark.” said Peter, wiping his eyes.

“C’mon Peter, it’s time.” said Gwen as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

Giving Tony one last hug, the pair separated as the Spider-people led the three Izuku’s back through their portals into their homes before vanishing too. “Well, there they go,” said Inko quietly. “And all of this was resolved quietly, because you used the Stones. And no one else besides all of us remembers what a disaster this was.”

“Yeah.” Turning towards Inko, Tony asked, “You okay? That I dragged you out here?”

“You have your friend back, Tony, that’s all I can say right now. Get him fixed.” said Inko, smiling as Tony smiled, hugging her with one arm as he looked over at Vision who was being taken by David over to where Sir was waiting.

“The rest of 1-A has been taken back through the Margins by Gwen and Wade,” said Shouta, the man coming up to them. “All Might and I are returning through it as well. You owe us a huge explanation for this.”

“I’ll let you know what exactly happened. It’s a crazy situation.” Tony looked over towards the chair where Kang once sat as Izuku stood there, gazing at it. “Right now, I need to go talk to the kid.”

=====

Izuku stood there, staring at the chair that Kang once sat at. The memory of his face being on the monster that had caused all this destruction had been burned in his memory as he tried to hold back his tears, when Tony and his mom’s arms came down around him in a hug from behind. “Wha?”

“It’s tough isn’t it kid?” said Tony.

“Just let it out sweetie.” added Inko. “It’s okay to cry.”

Izuku’s eyes watered as he started to cry, big hiccups of sobs erupting. “Why? I don’t understand, why did I… why did he have to go to such lengths to do this? I don’t understand… what happened to him, to me? Why’d I turn into a villain? Mr. Stark, mom, I don’t get it? Why did I have the Time Stone, why did I become Kang?”

As Izuku cried, the answer surprisingly came from Electro, who was sitting behind the chair. “Do you really want to know, Izuku Midoriya?”

Standing up, the rainbow-colored villain tilted his head, his gaze faraway. “Long ago, in another time, you met Tony Stark, and he helped you realize your dream. You were close, like father and son. But then, a tragedy struck, separating you two once more. In desperation, you sought power to lash out onto the world that took him from you -- and you found it. You could create Inhumans from the genetically seeded people of this planet, and rally them to your cause. So, you created the Masters of Evil, and birthed the Quirked. All with the Time Stone to control the fact that the world would never take Tony Stark away from you again.”

“I… did that?” said Izuku, horrified. “I was responsible for All for One?”

“In one timeline, yes. In one timeline, you were, and deep down, all All For One’s knew you as a creature to be feared and respected. However, Tony Stark is the One True King, our Pharaoh. You see Izuku, no king rules forever, and it’s time to pass that burden onto him. You’re much too young to let grief rule your future, and its time to let your father change your future for you.” said Electro.

Izuku looked at Tony, who tilted his head down at Izuku and at Inko. “Dad huh? I mean, if you want to call me that, I suppose I’m not adverse to it…”

“It’ll… take some doing, to be honest Mr. Stark. But I’ll try… dad.” said Izuku, choked up with sobs again.

Inko smiled as she grasped Tony’s hand. “I think even if Tony and I have something special, we’re still going to help bring you up as a great hero, Izuku. I promise. And we’ll prevent this tragedy from happening that’ll turn you into Kang.”

Electro smiled as he nodded, before floating off. [ Believe me. You already have. ]

=====

NOW.

As Tony waited for his cab, he turned slightly. “You’re out early Miss Crystal. Hanging around the school today?”

“Waiting for a cab actually.” replied Crystal, smiling. “I noticed your students are out late tonight. Tough round at the campus I hear.”

“News travels fast. So, are you really going to tell me what you’re doing here?”

Crystal’s eyes glinted a little. “What would it take to convince you that I’m one of the good guys, Mr. Stark?”

Tony turned towards Crystal, leaning lightly on his toes. “That depends. What’s your story?”

“Well... “ said Crystal. “That depends.” She looked up at the moon and Tony followed her gaze.

“Tell me… do you believe in the rabbit on the moon?”

Tony smiled a little bit. “As a matter of fact I do. So tell me: What do the Inhuman Royal Family want with the Pharaoh of this World?”

TO BE CONTINUED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This is the true end of Ironwood Trees. Not the convoluted mess of the original. Note that the original was meant to be very convoluted and gimmicky.


End file.
